12 questions for me... and anyone who wants to live intentionally in 2026
A personal manifesto for me and other obsessive life-degens.
I spent the whole of December planning the year ahead. I thought about coming up with a list of resolutions, or worse, goals. Then, I figured, that’d be boring.
So instead, I decided to focus on principles and beliefs. I asked myself some important questions. These questions came to my mind at random times throughout the month. Below, I answer them based on my beliefs and how I feel they should guide my life in 2026.
It was meant to exist only in my private archive. But after writing it, I realised it’s toooooo good for me to swallow alone.
If you’re reading this, I believe you’ll pick up a thing or two. You might not agree with everything, because it’s based on my beliefs, not yours. But it could be helpful for you to answer the same questions based on what you believe, and let it guide how you live intentionally, at least if you’re into this kind of serious thing.
Question 1 → How much output do I need to have?
I believe I need to do so much that it’d be unreasonable to be unsuccessful.
I believe my effort needs to be very consistent so that my success becomes a probability that goes up in a chart, not just a hope.
I believe I need to do so much that if I ever end up being unsuccessful, people will think it’s the work of witches and wizards because “that guy really gave his best”.
I believe I don’t deserve success until I’ve worked hard enough to be worthy of it. I also believe the hard work is useless unless the impact of the output matches the stress that comes with it.
I believe the only thing that really matters in life is result. And results should be measured by output. No one really cares about how many sleepless nights I had; what came out of it? I believe if it were due to sleepless nights, the security night guard should be driving Benz.
In 2026 → I hope to focus on, and have so much output.
Question 2 → How fast can it be done?
I believe I should not do it tomorrow if I can do it today. I should not do it later today if I can do it this morning. And I should not do it this morning if I can do it right now.
I believe there’s absolutely no reason for me to push a task forward unless there’s a clear reason why I cannot get to it right now.
I believe my doings should not depend on when I’m in the mood to do it. Because I’m not Father Xmas whose job is to be in a good mood and smile for them kids.
I believe anything I’m doing can be sped up. And whatever I’m doing fast can be done faster.
I believe delay is a decision, and it’s usually the wrong one.
And also, because the only thing that matters is output, I believe speed should be in the direction of a put going out. For instance, there’s no point in rushing to finish designing a page and then waiting two weeks to push it out; I should push it right now, and push it fast.
In 2026 → I hope to do things aggressively fast.
Question 3 → How flexible can I be?
I believe if I can’t change my mind, it means I’m not really using the mind.
I believe the value of intellectual humility is in the idea that a flexible mind is a thinking mind.
I believe I must have strong opinions, but loosely held, so that I’m able to adapt my views when faced with new evidence or perspectives.
I believe stubbornness is stagnation, not strength. And changing my mind isn’t a sign of weakness. As growth requires the courage to say, “oh, I see it differently now”.
In 2026 → I hope to be flexible in thinking when I need to be.
Question 4 → How calm can I be?
I believe not many things require deep emotion, seriousness, reaction, overthinking, or complicated analysis.
I believe everything should be handled with a neutral stance until it shouldn’t be.
I believe the answer to most rants and complaints should be “and so?”.
I also believe that the “what if” in every doubt should be replaced with “even if”.
However, I also believe the only time calmness should not be in the picture is when any of the beliefs in this piece are violated, e.g., I’m not staying calm if my time is being wasted, or if I’m not getting output. Otherwise…
In 2026 → I hope to make “calm” my competitive advantage and my default state.
Question 5 → How stressful can it get?
I believe life in itself is meant to be stressful. And I know growth is uncomfortable by default.
However, I know there’s a difference between good stress and bad stress. The stress I choose is different from the stress that chooses me. Stress associated with output and better future is good stress. Stress associated with death, bad health, and prison is bad stress.
I believe in the need to pray against bad stress, and the need to pray for good stress.
I believe, as an adult, there must be something stressing you the hell out at every point in time, I pray the stress is good stress, and I pray it’s not more than I can bear.
And I believe not having any stress at all is a sign of a life without enough challenge. And life without challenge is a mediocre life. And if I don’t want to be mediocre, then I have to survive the stress that other people cannot.
In 2026 → I hope to find fun in good stress.
Question 6 → How clear and short can I make it?
I believe it’s important that I’m able to communicate effectively, and effective communication boils down to clarity and brevity.
I believe confusion loves extra words; I should always aim to convey my message as quickly as possible.
I’m also aware that saying more words at times makes us sound smart, but the aim isn’t to sound smart, the aim is to sound clear.
I believe the only time more words are allowed is when more words are required for clarity.
I believe conversations should be in the direction of reaching a conclusive solution i.e, This is the problem, this is what I think, this is the solution…
I believe I should be able to explain and communicate anything in about two sentences, after which we should start talking about the way forward.
In 2026 → I hope to communicate clearly in the least possible time.
Question 7 → How generous can I be?
I believe generosity is a product of character, not of abundance.
I believe it takes too much and too little to be generous, depending on how I look at it. But the point of life is happiness, and being generous towards others does make them happy, which, in a way, is one way to fulfil our purposes in life.
But generosity also brings unwanted results, like being taken for granted, others thinking you give because you have too much and you don’t feel the sting, people becoming entitled because they get used to it, or just people being people in general.
With that, I believe I should be generous to the extent my mood dictates, and choose not to be without thinking twice about it. I should be able to give someone something ‘out of generosity’ every day for 6 straight months and change my mind on the 184th day, without explanation, because it’s my will and I don’t owe them one.
I also hope not to get used to other people’s generosity, and I hope to see the generosity of others as grace, not obligation.
In 2026 → I hope to be generous to the extent of my mood.
Question 8 → How much patience can I have?
I don’t believe that the patient dog eats the fattest bone. I wonder who came up with that saying.
I believe patience depends on the context in which it’s required. Because patience can be a virtue, but waiting around is not, and they’re often mixed up.
I believe that when speed and output are the biggest priorities, patience is not an advantage.
I should try as much as possible not to wait for anyone, because people will delay me. I should also find ways to get things done without depending on the availability of someone else, unless it’s unavoidable.
I believe I need to practise patience only when necessary (like when I’m boiling egg 🥚), and move with speed otherwise.
I also believe I must know when laziness, procrastination and waste of time are disguising as need for patience.
In 2026 → I hope not to be unnecessarily patient.
Question 9 → How quickly can I solve a problem?
I believe I should be able to give a solution to any problem within a very short time, if I really have to. I believe I can be the guy who clears the path, solves the problem, and removes the hurdle so everyone else can move along.
I believe it’s easy to get ahead if I just focus on solving problems rather than creating them. I also believe there’s extra leverage in solving problems FAST, rather than analysing problems extensively.
I know there aren’t that many problems that are interesting enough to solve, and there aren’t many that are possible for me to solve, but I hope I’m able to find a good number of problems worthy of solving, and when I do, I hope to actually have a solution.
In 2026 → I hope to be able to solve a lot of problems for myself and others in the least possible time.
Question 10 → How much more can I know?
I believe in Steven Bartlett’s “5 Buckets” framework for success, which emphasizes building success sequentially: 1. Knowledge (what you know) → 2. Skills (what you can do) → 3. Network (who you know) → 4. Resources (what you have) → 5. Reputation (what others think)
The most critical bucket is known to be knowledge, which shoots further to skills. That said, I believe I need to double down on what I know.
Apart from trying new things, I’ve found reading to be a great way to so much expand what I know. And as a testament, one of my best experiences of 2025 was reading.
I believe I need to keep my hunger for learning high. And I hope never to think I know too much to relent on learning or doing more.
In 2026 → I hope to learn so much more that my brain will tell me to slow down.
Question 11 → How healthy can I be?
I believe “Health is wealth” is an underrated phrase. The last time I had a sore throat, I would do anything to make it go away, and sore throat is the least of health challenges.
I believe I should be more willing to take the basics of health seriously, like sleeping properly, avoiding certain food, going to the gym, going on a run, or just strolling consistently.
I also believe it’s difficult to do these things because we humans aren’t necessarily obligated to put health first until the health fails. But I hope to have this at the top of my mind, a priority.
In 2026 → I hope to take my health seriously.
Question 12 → How grateful can I be?
I believe the concept of life is funny, and we can write ourselves epistles and go hard all we want, but the blessings of the Lord and the natural alignment of life cannot be underestimated.
I believe many things in life are based on God’s favour, luck, and mere circumstance. And a series of events leads to the final result, which means there’s room for a lot of things to go wrong. The fact that they don’t, is not nothing.
I believe I should never underestimate the power of luck and the alignment God has put in place in my life. And I also should not undermine the need for new ones.
In 2026 → I hope to be grateful anytime I remember, and I hope that ‘anytime’ is ‘every time’.
These are my beliefs.
And I intentionally used “belief” because I don’t want it confused with “opinion” or “thoughts”, there’s a difference. Beliefs are held more strongly.
If they work for you, chop knuckle. If they don’t, you can write yours. I believe the exercise matters more than the answers.
Either way, I hope 2026 is the year you become undeniable, alongside me.